


Twisted Hearts

by clairehan



Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-21
Updated: 2014-01-02
Packaged: 2018-01-05 10:08:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1092638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clairehan/pseuds/clairehan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>so, as you may have noticed, with the exception of the prologue (and later, the epilogue) I have taken the decision to use SPN episode titles as chapter titles... SOme of them (e.g. this one?) don't fit perfectly but hopefully the idea is there.... Maybe not, I'm not sure. Anyway, this chapter's taken a while. Glad to get it done. Please point out flaws! I don't have a beta/proof reader at the moment so I'm sure there are many!</p>
        </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Dean Winchester removed the last plaid shirt from the closet and folded it into his khaki duffel bag. Sweeping the room quickly with his bright green eyes, he checked for any forgotten belongings, before shutting the bag and zipping it up. It was the end of his first semester of university.

“Looking forward to going home for Christmas?” 

A deep, husky voice spoke from the doorway of Dean's room. Dean turned around to see his friend, Castiel, standing in the door frame, wearing a fawn trench coat.

“We... We don't really celebrate Christmas,” Dean replied. “But I'm looking forward to seeing my brother.”

Castiel chuckled, but the crinkly smile disappeared from his face and he sighed. “I'm glad you are. I could quite happily stay here, simply to avoid seeing my brothers.”

“I thought you got on with them now?”

“We don't argue much any more... But they treat me like a baby. I know I'm the youngest brother but I'm not a child! Then again, they're even more protective over our little sister,” Castiel said indignantly. “Anyway, I have to go now, I have a flight to catch. I just wanted to come and wish you a happy Christmas.”

“Yeah, you too, Cas,” Dean replied, and with that, Castiel was gone.

Dean sighed. He understood Castiel's frustration with his older brothers but he saw it from the other perspective too. He felt protective over his little brother Sam, especially since their parents had died when they were younger. Dean loved Sammy, but sometimes he wished he had someone looking after him too. To him, having three older brothers and a little sister sounded like heaven. In fact, though Dean could barely admit it to himself, never mind to his friend, he was a little jealous of Castiel, going home to his house and his family and a traditional Christmas. Dean spent all his time on the road, never staying in one place for very long, except for when he was at school. Often, he would travel with Sam, who was good company, but he could be moody from time to time, and Dean wished they had a big family to alleviate the tension between them.

Dean sighed, telling himself to be grateful for what he had, and with that, he picked up his duffel bag and headed towards the parking lot, where his beloved '67 Chevrolet Impala was faithfully waiting for him.


	2. Home

“Hey little brother!” Castiel was greeted cheerily at the airport by a short young man with dirty blond hair.

“Hello, Gabriel. They put you on Cas-collection duty yet again, I see.”

“I volunteered, actually. Needed to get out of the house for a while,” Castiel's brother replied, picking up Cas' suitcase and leading the way towards the exit.

“Arguing with Michael again?”

“Not exactly. Arguing with Dad, mostly... But you can guess which side Michael normally takes. How's school?”

“Good. I, er- I've made some friends...”

“You don't sound too sure about that, little brother,” Gabriel teased.

“I spend a lot of time studying, and you know that I'm not that sociable. What about you?”

“Completely the opposite, little brother. I do all the socialising – and none of the studying. I love school! Cheap alcohol, fun girls – what's not to like?”

Castiel smiled. He knew his brother was not at all interested in the studying aspect of his education, unlike his eldest brothers, Michael and Raphael, twins, who were hard-working and diligent, like Cas, though they were less good-natured and much less forgiving.

Gabriel led his little brother across the parking lot to his battered, red Ford Verona. They threw the bags into the backseat and Castiel chuckled to himself as he climbed into the passenger seat. Although Gabriel could be annoying, even a bit of a dick at times, Cas was glad to see him, and the beat-up old car showed that his brother had not changed at all.

“So, as you can imagine, Dad is in full-on 'Christmas' mode already,” Gabriel chatted as he reversed out of the parking space and joined the queue of cars crawling towards the exit of the parking lot. “I hope you're ready to step back in time when you get home. Seriously, everything is traditional as ever and Dad even had a go at Michael of all people. You know things are serious when those two come to blows.”

“What had Michael done?”

“He asked if we could have a party.”

“What did Dad say?”

“He just went mad at Mike, said that Christmas is a time to enjoy with family and go to church and all that. He heard about one of Mike and Rafa's frat parties and went ballistic. I think he likes to think we're all still his perfect little kids, you know? And of course, Lucy is the perfect little child, only she's too young to realise what's going on most of the time. So Dad just says 'why can't you be more like Lucy?' and we have to remind him that we're not little kids, and she is. Anyway, when Mike asked about having a Christmas party, it was a hopeless case really, but the thing is, Mom and Dad are going away for New Year, so we're thinking New Year's Eve party, then we'll have time to clear up before they get back.”

“Sounds good,” Cas nodded. His brothers had had parties before when their parents were out of town, but every time they planned another one, they revealed their plans to him as if they were new, revolutionary ideas. “What about Lucy?”

“Oh, she's staying with Aunt Naomi over New Year. We don't need to worry about her,” Gabriel explained. “Anyway, I know your buddies probably all live hundreds of miles away, but if you want to invite anyone, feel free.”

“Thanks. I'll ask, but I doubt any of them will come.”

“Well, it's not like you'll need them there anyway. I'm sure Meg will want you all to herself,” Gabriel smirked, elbowing his brother playfully. 

Meg Masters, Castiel's girlfriend since eleventh grade, was a fun-loving girl who played bass in a rock band called 'The Hellhounds' and had crafted herself a 'bad girl' reputation, so it surprised everyone when she and naïve, studious Castiel started dating. Castiel had missed Meg during the first semester of school, mainly because she was the backbone of Cas' social life and without her, he felt awkward and out of place at parties. Without Meg, Cas had spent more time than ever alone in his room, studying, reading, or writing. He wrote stories mainly, and was working on a long-term novel project, but he was increasingly writing poetry since he had been at school. For Cas, the process of writing was therapeutic, and given the tensions between his family, it was his favourite way to relax.

The car pulled into the driveway of the Novak family home, a large house in the suburbs with big windows and a three-car garage, though Gabriel still had to park outside as the garage was occupied by a Cadillac belonging to Mr Novak, a Mazda which Michael and Raphael had to share, and a Vespa motorcycle, the prized possession of Mrs Novak.

“Welcome home, little brother,” Gabriel announced. “I always feel like my car doesn't quite fit in with Dad's 'image' for this place. I think he would rather I hid it round the back out of sight.”

Castiel smiled, only now realising that he had missed Gabriel and his funny little comments that just slightly hinted at some resentment against their father.

Gabriel led the way up the patio which led to the front door, already open as the family seemed to gather in the hallway for Castiel's arrival. They had all heard the car pulling into the driveway, and Mrs Novak had immediately ceased cutting out pastry for the mince pies in order to greet her youngest son at the door. Mr Novak was somewhat more restrained, rising slowly from his armchair and only coming through into the hallway once Cas and Gabriel were inside. Lucy had bolted down the stairs and eagerly hugged Cas as he arrived, almost knocking him off his feet, much to the amusement of Gabriel. Raphael and Michael hovered at the top of the imposing staircase, nodding a brief greeting before retreating into their rooms.

“Castiel! Did you have a good journey? Are you hungry? Would you like a drink? Tell me all about school! I hope you don't have too much work to do over Christmas break!” Mrs Novak fussed over her son, leading him into the kitchen, followed by Gabriel and Lucy. Mr Novak returned to the living room, resuming his crossword puzzle.

“I can wait until dinner, Mother,” Castiel assured her. “My journey was fine. I'm glad to be home.”

“Cas, come and see the new Christmas decoration I made at school!” Lucy took hold of her brother's hand and dragged him back into the hallway where a large Christmas tree stood, sparkling with lights and decorations, surrounded by various presents. Lucy, who was eleven years old, pointed out a papier maché angel she had made at school.

“Everyone else made their angels as girl angels, so I made mine a boy angel,” Lucy explained. Castiel grinned as he noticed that Lucy had painted the angel wearing his fawn trenchcoat.

“It's great, Lucy! I wish I was more artistic like you.”

Lucy giggled and ran through into the kitchen, where Gabriel scooped her up and tickled her until she was squirming around on the floor.

“Tsk! Not in the kitchen, please, Gabriel. The floor could be dirty or Lucy could hurt herself.”

“Sorry, Ma,” said Gabriel sheepishly, helping Lucy up before carrying her through into the sitting room, much to the annoyance of their father, who was still finishing his crossword.

Castiel sat at the kitchen table, taking satsuma from the fruit bowl and beginning to peel it.

“So, Castiel, we're all taking bets on when Meg will put in her first appearance of the holiday season. Have you been in contact with her?”

“Yes. I said I would call her once I was home to make plans.”

“So you've managed to stay close despite the distance?”

“Yes. We often speak on the telephone,” Cas said, popping a segment of satsuma into his mouth.

Mrs Novak put the tray of mince pies in the oven and sat at the table. She reached out and lightly touched her son's hand lovingly.

“I'm not going to lie to you, Castiel, we wondered if it would last, what with you being so far away, and Meg staying around here. We really thought she might just move on, find someone else. Or that you might meet somebody new at school. We really thought-”

“Mother, I know what you really want to say, and honestly, I don't really want to hear it,” Cas interrupted her. “I know that you and Dad don't really approve of Meg, but we're together, and that's that. It probably isn't forever. She probably isn't the woman I will end up marrying and living with for the rest of my life, but so what? I like her right now, and she likes me too. So yes, we're still together.”

He got up and left without waiting for his mother's reaction. As he climbed the stairs, suitcase in hand, Michael emerged from his room to greet his younger brother.

“Hello, Castiel.”

“Hi, Mike. Had a good semester?” Cas asked politely.

“Yeah, not so bad. Hey, did Gabe tell you about New Year's Eve?”

“Yeah, he did. Sounds great.”

“Well, do invite some friends... Not many though, we don't want it to get too out-of-hand.”

Cas nodded. He wondered who he might invite, and could only think of one friend he cared enough about to ask.

“We didn't tell Meg about it yet,” Michael explained. “We thought we'd leave that to you.”

“Thanks,” nodded Cas. Michael returned to his room and Cas continued down the landing to his own room, freshly cleaned and hoovered by their caring mother. He was glad to be home, as he lay back on the bed and breathed in the smell. 

Cas' room was square, with blue walls and a grey carpet. He had a wardrobe and two bookcases, though he still had piles of books stacked up on the floor because he did not have enough room to store all of them. His window, framed by limp, ageing curtains, looked out on to the Novaks' well-maintained backyard, with precise flower beds and lined by trees.

Castiel's mobile 'phone buzzed in the pocket of his trenchcoat and he answered it almost immediately, not bothering to check whose number had appeared on the screen.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Cas! So I know you said you would ring me, but we were driving by your house and I noticed Gabe's car was back in the drive, so I figured you were home already. Did you have a good journey?” a smoky, orotund voice greeted Cas from the other end of the 'phone line.

“Hello, Meg,” Castiel greeted his girlfriend, feeling slightly annoyed that she had chosen this moment to call hi, though he wasn't sure why he should feel like that. “My journey was fine, thank you. How are you?”

“I'm fantastic now that I know you're home safe and sound, honey.”

“So... How about dinner tomorrow evening?” Cas suggested.

“I can't wait,” came the reply. “I've missed you, Cas.”

“I've missed you too, Meg,” Cas paused before remembering what Michael had said to him. “Oh, by the way, my brothers and I are having a New Year's Eve party, so... I hope you didn't have anything else planned.”

“Cas, you know that you are my only plan,” Meg purred. “But, a party? Is Daddy Novak okay with this?”

It wasn't that Meg was worried what Mr Novak would think, only that she was surprised.

“Well, he doesn't exactly know. He and Mom are going away for New Year.”

“Ah, so a free house? Sounds fantastic. Will any of your school friends be there? I'm just dying to meet them.”

“Well, maybe. I doubt anyone will travel all the way here just for one evening, but I might ask a couple of people.”

“Okay, sweetie. Well, I have to go now, but I just wanted to call to make sure you were home safely. I'll see you tomorrow. Shall I pick you up at seven?”

“Yes, that's fine,” Castiel made a mental note to book a table for dinner. Meg had to drive as Cas didn't have his own car and his brothers could be picky about letting him borrow theirs. “See you then.”

The line was already dead. That's how it was with Meg. She was in control, and Cas was happy with it that way, because Meg was smart and confident. She knew what she was doing. In that respect, Cas really was grateful of having her in his life. Without Meg, Cas would be nobody, but with her, he had someone to help him out in difficult situations.

“Dinner time!” Mrs Novak called up the stairs. The family assembled around the large dinner table, the parents at each end, with Michael and Raphael on one side, and Castiel and Gabriel on the other, with Lucy between them. 

“Well, it's nice to have the whole family gathered once again!” Mrs Novak commented as she put serving dishes in the middle of the table. She sat down, and her husband said grace, a tradition his sons had grown to hate but he was not prepared to eat a meal without. Between them, they served the food, a roast meal, and the whole family ate eagerly.

The following day, Cas took Lucy to the Christmas market. He was pleased to spend time with his little sister, and she had missed him terribly while he was away. Besides, it was a good chance to get ahead with Christmas shopping. Cas wondered if he ought to send any Christmas cards to his friends from college. He attempted to mentally compile a list of people he wanted to send one to, but the only real friend he had was Dean Winchester, and he didn't even have a permanent address, so mailing anything was pointless.

Meg showed up at precisely seven o'clock, and Cas went out to greet her rather than inviting her inside before they left. Castiel's parents did not entirely approve of Meg and Castiel did not want to encourage any ill feeling, especially at Christmas time. They drove for a short time almost in silence. Castiel wasn't sure what to say. He felt as if he had been away from home for so long, he had forgotten how to communicate with the people he used to know. When they arrived at the restaurant they were shown to a table by the window.

“Tell me all about school, then,” Meg smiled. 

Castiel told her. He told her about his classes and the hours he spent in the library, the projects he had got involved with, the writing group he had joined. He told her about the upcoming competition he hoped to enter, for which he had to write a short play. He told her about his professors and their lectures and the author who had visited earlier in the semester to give a writing masterclass.

“Oh, Cas. You haven't changed at all, have you?”

“I... I suppose not. What do you mean?”

Meg reached across the table and took hold of Cas' hand. 

“Chatting away about your school work. Come on, Cas, tell me about your friends! The things you get up to! Will I get to meet them?”

Cas considered this for a moment.

“I don't really have many friends.”

“Aw, you sad little thing. Come on, there must be someone? The people who live near you, people you sit next to in lectures?”

Only one person came to mind.

“I am quite good friends with Dean, who occupies the room next to mine,” Castiel admitted. “I think you would like him.”

“Just one friend? You poor thing, you should have taken me with you! I would soon make a bunch of friends for us!”

Cas didn't like to mention that he didn't get on very well with most of Meg's friends, but luckily at that moment their waiter returned to take their orders.

The couple had a pleasant evening, though with so much to catch up on, the conversation was a little strained at times. 

“When can I see you again, Castiel?” Meg asked, walking Cas to his door. “Tomorrow, maybe?”

“I think my family have plans for tomorrow. Perhaps the next day?”

“Sure thing, Cas. Maybe we can hang out at my place?”

Cas thought for a moment and realised that in saying this, Meg meant 'maybe we can have sex'.

“I'd love to, darling,” he replied, and leaned down to kiss her. She kissed back, more passionately than Cas was expecting, running her hands through his hair.

“I've missed you, Cas,” she whispered before kissing him again.

An upstairs window opened and somebody wolf-whistled loudly. Meg spun round and looked up to see Gabriel leaning out of the window, chuckling to himself. She stuck two fingers up at him before turning back to face Cas.

“Nice to see you too, Meg!” Gabriel yelled.

“Goodbye, Castiel. Don't send my regards to your idiot brothers.”

“Goodbye, Meg.”


	3. 99 Problems

Dean Winchester walked into the bar and immediately regretted it. He had visited this bar before, but since the last time he had been there, the place seemed to have changed a lot. It used to be a semi-tasteful establishment, buzzing with lively conversation and fun people. Now, it seemed a lot darker and dingier. Dean sat at the bar and ordered a whiskey. Having spent the semester at school, he suddenly felt very alone, and wished he had a friend beside him. He had already driven a few hundred miles, and he would have to go on another long journey the following day to pick Sam up for Christmas. Sam was still at high school so he usually stayed with a friend, but Dean would always collect him for the holidays and they would travel around together, doing casual work to earn enough money to stay at cheap motels and drink at dark, lonely bars such as this one. Their parents had left them some money but Dean was adamant that that would only be used for their education. 

Dean thought about calling Sam, just to have someone to talk to, but he realised that Sam was probably busy, probably socialising with his own friends, and he wouldn't know what to say to him anyway. Sam was great in person, but on the 'phone, he could be awkward and quiet. Dean thought about calling a friend, but he wasn't great at making friends, and most of the people he had gotten to know at school were drinking buddies and not much more.

“You look lonely. Do you want company?”

Dean looked up to see the source of this shrill voice. It was a girl, probably about his age, possibly a year or two older, with bouncy blonde curls and sparkling eyes. She was hot, Dean couldn't deny it, and she seemed to be the most cheerful person in the bar, but for some reason Dean wasn't all that interested in talking to her. A few months earlier, he would have been flirting with her immediately, but now he just couldn't be bothered. He nodded anyway and the girl sat down beside him. He regretted her presence immediately. What was he doing? This girl was probably just looking for a hook-up, but Dean barely had the energy to flirt, never mind have sex with a stranger, regardless of how hot she was.

Making no effort to start conversation, Dean stared into his now empty glass. 

“So, what's up?” the girl asked, sounding bored already. “I'm Brianna, by the way.”

“Dean,” said Dean, barely looking up.

“So, not much of a talker, are you, Dean?”

Dean wished Brianna was less of a talker.

“Not really.”

“What about other stuff then?” she whispered, rather seductively.

Wow. Brianna was very forward, thought Dean, wishing she would go away. 

Brianna straightened up, took a deep breath and narrowed her eyes at Dean.

“So you've got a girlfriend, is that what it is?”

“No,” Dean replied, then wondered why he hadn't lied. He could have said yes, he had a girlfriend, and he was not interested in Brianna. That could have been the end of the conversation.

“Then what is it? There's someone you like?”

“Something like that.”

“You want to talk about her?”

Dean sighed. He did not want to talk about this to Brianna. Or anyone else. He was still trying to figure it out for himself. The truth was, he had not had a girlfriend in months. He had slept with a couple of girls in his first few weeks at college, and been on a few first-dates, but none of his relationships, if one could even call them that, had gone any further. He was becoming distracted, but he couldn't figure out why.

Well, he knew why. It was because of _him_. He just didn't now how _he_ had affected him in such a bizarre way. Dean had never felt like this before, certainly not over another guy.

“He's funny, he's different. Not my type at all, but somehow... I just feel something, you know?” Dean found himself talking to Brianna, however much he didn't want to. The words just slipped out, and even he barely knew what he was saying.

“So, what? You're bi or something?” 

The question brought Dean out of his deep, dreamy thoughts and back to reality with a jolt.

“What?”

“Well, like, I saw you checking me out before,” Brianna responded. “But... now you're talking about some dreamy dude... So...”

Realising that Dean was neither going to talk about the matter any further, nor sleep with her, Brianna quickly lost interest and moved on to her next target, a tired-looking yet handsome businessman-type a little way down the bar. 

Dean threw some money down on the bar, stood up and started walking towards the door. He was tired, and needed to find a motel in which to stay for the night. As he walked towards the exit, a hand shot out from the bar and grabbed his arm. Surprised, he turned to see Brianna looking up at him.

“It's okay, you know,” she whispered, as the businessman-type called the bartender over for more drinks. “It's okay to be a little confused about who you are. I hope things work out between you and Mr Dreamy.”

Dean nodded vaguely, surprised at Brianna's final comments, before he walked out of the bar and back to his beloved car, waiting, as always, in the parking lot. However, he just couldn't shake Brianna's words out of his mind. 'It's okay to be a little confused about who you are'. Was he confused? He chuckled to himself, realising that if he was asking himself that question, he must be somewhat confused. This thought only confused him further, and the more he thought about it, the less he understood what he was even thinking about. 

Putting all thought of Brianna, the brief conversation, and most importantly, _him_ out of his mind, Dean started the engine, turned his music up, and hit the gas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, as you may have noticed, with the exception of the prologue (and later, the epilogue) I have taken the decision to use SPN episode titles as chapter titles... SOme of them (e.g. this one?) don't fit perfectly but hopefully the idea is there.... Maybe not, I'm not sure. Anyway, this chapter's taken a while. Glad to get it done. Please point out flaws! I don't have a beta/proof reader at the moment so I'm sure there are many!


End file.
